Need opinions on son's lunch

E

EricaH

Cathlete
My son is tiny and very picky and it's hard for me to find lunches to pack for school that he will eat. He's also a vegetarian and a very slow eater, so he needs something that doesn't take long to finish. When he's home, he eats better but many of the lunches he eats just don't pack well for school. I used to send him PB&J, but he got sick of that.

I was wondering about energy bars. Would you send those to school for lunch? I think it might work, but I'm worried that it's too much like a candy bar and I don't want him to think he's eating candy bars for lunch.

Right now, I'm sending him yogurt, raisins, 1/2 bagel and a snack like goldfish, pretzels, etc. He's getting really sick of yogurt and I need to send something different soon.

Thanks for any thoughts on the nutrition bar or any other ideas! I just thought about string cheese or trail mix also - maybe he would eat that sometimes.

Erica
 
Would he eat mini-veggie-corndogs? They're small and tasty and they'd be easy to pack. You could stick them in the lunchbox frozen and they'd be thawed and ready to eat by lunchtime.

Kristy

I solemnly swear that I am up to no good
 
Hi Erica,

My children love hard-boiled eggs (I peel them the night before), cottage cheese with fruit mixed in, and string cheese.

My DD loves to bring a whole wheat tortilla with black beans and diced tomatoes in it. Also, if I include any sort of "dip" for her, she'll eat almost anything.

I am not sure of the nutrition bar. I tend to avoid them because they do resemble a candy bar and are high in calories, but if you need your son to increase his caloric intake, they might be OK.

Hope this helps!
 
Thanks for the link - lots of good ideas there. I edited my post to say energy bars instead of nutrition bars. Yes, what I meant was something like the protein bars you mentioned.

Erica
 
Hi Erica. I'm not an expert but just looking at that particular lunch...it's all carbs that will digest rather quickly. I would choose between the raisins or the bagel or the snacky crackers...not all three in one meal.

Besides the yogurt, will he eat cheese or soy products?

I would rework that lunch to this:

Yogurt
Raw vegetables: cauliflower, celery with peanut butter, pea pods, broccoli, carrots.
Fruit: apple, pear, orange, banana
Nuts: all of my kids will eat pistachios and almonds. Be sure to buy the no salt added types.

I know how difficult it is to pack a lunch from home that doesn't require refrigeration or reheating. Just think along the lines of Protein-Vegetable-Fruit and then include a snacky item like the pretzels or fish crackers. I'm not a fan of raisins just because they are so high in sugar...but so are bananas.

My kids will also eat quick breads like banana bread, cranberry walnut bread, that type of stuff and then I'll make a sandwich of it using cream cheese as the filler...but on those days they get two vegetables! The recent issue of Family Fun has a recipe for banana bread and then two variation's of the same recipe.
 
Wow...I just read the thread that Shelley linked...I have not heard of schools banning nuts/peanut butter in lunches. Wow.

I distinctly remember a kid in one of my kids preschool class being allergic to nuts so on the days the snack was nuts or a granola bar...he ate crackers but he was still sitting at the same table as the nut eaters.

Also, thank you Lynne12 for the muffin recipes on that old thread. We'll be trying those out soon!:)
 
>Wow...I just read the thread that Shelley linked...I have not
>heard of schools banning nuts/peanut butter in lunches. Wow.

My DD's school is basically a "peanut-free" school now. Thank goodness they have a cafeteria!
 
This is pretty much what I pack for my son's lunch everyday:

PB and jelly sandwich on 100% whole wheat bread
soy or rice milk
string cheese or cheddar cheese stick
raisins
almonds
carrots and snap peas
apple or grapes
chips or crackers

He eats some of it for a mid morning snack.

Maybe you can replace the yogurt with cheese
Crackers with nuts
bagel with veggies.......

Lucky for me my son prefers to have the same thing day in and day out.
 
Hi Erica! You staying warm up there?

How about the BIG Breakfast cookie on some days? You could add some veggies or fruit with it.

BIG Breakfast Cookie

Ingredients for 1 BIG Cookie - 5 pts.: (doesn't account for added protein powder)

1/3 cup oatmeal
1 Tb raisins
1 Tb flour
1/3 cups fat-free dry milk
¼ cup applesauce (no-sugar added)
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp. baking powder
1 Tb Splenda or other no-calorie sweetener *
(I also add 1-2 scoops of chocolate protein powder and increase the applesauce just a bit to compensate for the added dry mix)

Ingredients for a batch of 4 BIG Cookies:
Yields: 4 servings | 5 points per serving (doesn’t account for added protein powder)
or: 6 servings | 3 points per serving

Note: These cookies are huge and filling. You might even want to bake them as 6 smaller cookies for less points!

1¼ cups oatmeal
¼ cup raisins
¼ cup flour
1½ cups fat-free dry milk
1 cup applesauce (no-sugar added)
1½ tsp. cinnamon
1½ tsp. baking powder
¼ cup Splenda or other no-calorie sweetener *

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a LARGE cookie sheet with Pam or use two smaller cookie sheets. Mix all ingredients together and spoon 4 large mounds on sheet. Bake for 15-20 min.

(You can even freeze a whole batch of these and then eat them throughout the week! Just thaw them to room temperature, or nuke in the microwave for 30 seconds, before serving.)

Nutritional Info: (per cookie, made with Splenda): 270 calories, 2 g. fat, 4.2 g. fiber (5 points) (Using sugar instead of splenda adds 1 point per cookie, for a total of 6 points per cookie)


http://www.PictureTrail.com/gid8692709

Your-Friend-In-Fitness, DebbieH (AKA "Den Mother Debbie") http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/aktion/action-smiley-066.gif[/img] If You Get The Choice To Sit It Out Or Dance...I Hope You DANCE!!!
 
Thanks!

Thanks everyone for the great links and ideas. I'm going to show my son all of these suggestions and have him tell me what appeals to him. Somehow, I think Debbie's Big Cookie suggestion might be top on his list!:)

Hey Debbie! Yes, we're staying warm. I love cold weather, so this doesn't bother me at all. Ask me in the summer and I'll complain and whine about the heat, humidity and bugs.

Erica
 
RE: Thanks!

I really hate to rain on the parade, but I'd dislike even more seeing that little boy miss out on his protein. I've always heard that cooking the protein powder destroys it somehow. I hope someone can chime in and tell me I'm wrong???

Shari
 
Thanks all I have some new ideas too!

I have to pack a morning snack and a lunch. Morning snacks I rotate all fruits (mandarin oranges in can), apples and a tiny bit of caramel, watermelon, canteloupe, honeydew, kiwis, strawberries, red and green grapes. I use the bowls in the baby department with lids I think they are 2.50 for 6-8 of them my teacher sends everything back home so I know they are eating. Lunches cut up raw veggies with a tiny bit of ranch, black olives, I purchase deli lunchmeat and cheese, pbj, they are treated to pizza on thursdays, they like the pizza lunchables, my one daughter loves spaghettios, soup with a little packages of oyster crackers, cold pasta salads, they have a few different kinds of trail mixes they get a handful of some cracker or chip. Desserts: pudding, applesauce, yogurt, 1 piece of liccorice, animal crackers, 1/2 box cracker jacks. I can go on and on. I love to rotate. My hubby thinks I am crazy but I love the fact they do not have hot lunches so I do not want them to get bored. Quite a few moms have stopped me for ideas because they pack the same thing everyday or something unhealthy for a morning snack and their child will say but Hanna and Rebekkah got such and such today. so my kids are kinda lucky that I take the time and care. I did not have that growing up I have always tried to watch and limit what they eat but not so bad when the get older they will feel like they have to sneak or just eat it all. If they eat all their lunch at school when they get home from school they get a snack. Same goes for all their dinner.

The cracker isle has whole wheat crackers with peanut butter. If your school allows peanuts.

beth6395
 
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